Mass spectrometers are used to analyze sample substances containing elements or compounds or mixtures of elements or compounds) by measuring the mass to charge of ions produced from a sample substance in an ion source. A number of types of ion sources that can produce ions from solid, liquid or gaseous sample substrates have been combined with mass spectrometers. Ions can be produced in vacuum using ion sources, including, but not limited to, Electron Ionization (EI), Chemical Ionization (CI), Laser Desorption (LD), Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption (MALDI), Fast Atom Bombardment (FAB), Field Desorption (FD) or Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS). Alternatively, ions can be produced at or near atmospheric pressure using ion sources, including, but not limited to, Electrospray (ES), Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization (APCI) or Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP). Ion sources that operate at intermediate vacuum pressures such as Glow Discharge Ion Sources have also been used to generate ions for mass spectrometric analysis. Ion sources that operate in vacuum are generally located in the vacuum region of the mass spectrometer near the entrance to the mass analyzer to improve the efficiency of ion transfer to the detector. Ion sources that produce ions in vacuum have also been located outside the region near the mass spectrometer entrance. The ions produced in a location removed from the mass analyzer entrance must be delivered to the entrance region of the mass spectrometer prior to mass analysis. Atmospheric or intermediate pressure ion sources are configured to deliver ions produced at higher pressure into the vacuum region of the mass analyzer. The geometry and performance of the ion optics used to transport ions from an ion source into the entrance region of a given mass analyzer type can greatly affect the mass analyzer performance. This is particularly the case with Time-Of-Flight mass analyzers, in which the initial spatial and energy distribution of the ions pulsed into the flight tube of a Time-Of-Flight mass analyzer affects the resulting mass to charge analysis resolution and mass accuracy.
Mass analysis conducted in a Time-Of-Flight mass (TOF) spectrometer is achieved by accelerating or pulsing a group of ions into a flight tube under vacuum conditions. During the flight time, ions of different mass to charge values spatially separate prior to impacting on a detector surface. Ions are accelerated from a first acceleration or pulsing region and may be subject to one or more acceleration and deceleration regions during the ion flight time prior to impinging on a detector surface. Multiple ion accelerating and decelerating stages configured in Time-Of-Flight mass spectrometers aid in compensating or correcting for the initial ion spatial and energy dispersion of the initial ion population in the first ion pulsing or accelerating region. The most common lens geometry used in the first TOF ion pulsing or accelerating region is two parallel planar electrodes with the electrode surfaces oriented perpendicular to the direction of ion acceleration into the Time-Of-Flight tube. The direction of the initial ion acceleration is generally in a direction parallel with the TOF tube axis. A linear uniform electric field is formed in the gap between the two parallel planar electrodes when different electrical potentials are applied to the two electrodes. The planar electrode positioned in the direction of ion acceleration into the TOF tube is generally configured as a highly transparent grid to allow ions to pass through with minimal interference to the ion trajectories. To maximize the performance of a Time-Of-Flight mass analyzer, it is desirable to initiate the acceleration of ions in the pulsing region with all ions initially positioned in a plane parallel with the planar electrodes and initially having the same initial kinetic energy component in the direction of acceleration. Consequently, when ions are generated in or transported into the initial accelerating or pulsing region of a Time-Of-Flight mass analyzer, conditions are avoided which lead to ion energy or spatial dispersion at the initiation of ion acceleration into the Time-Of-Flight tube drift region. As a practical matter, a population of gaseous phase ions located in the pulsing region will have a non-zero spatial and kinetic distribution prior to pulsing into a Time-Of-Flight tube drift region. This non zero spatial and kinetic energy spread may degrade Time-Of-Flight mass to charge analysis resolution, sensitivity and mass measurement accuracy. In one aspect of the present invention, the spatial and energy spread of an ion population is minimized prior to accelerating the population of ions into a Time-Of-Flight tube drift region.
When ion spatial and energy spread can not be avoided in the TOF pulsing or first accelerating region, it is desirable to have the ion energy and spatial distributions correlated so that both can be compensated and corrected for during the ion flight time prior to hitting the detector. A correlation between the ion kinetic energy component in the TOF axial direction and spatial spread can occur in the TOF pulsing region when spatially dispersed ions with a non random TOF axial kinetic energy component are accelerated in a uniform electric field formed between two parallel electrodes. Wiley et. al., The Review of Scientific Instruments 26(12):1150-1157 (1955) described the configuration and operation of a second ion accelerating region to refocus ions of like mass to charge along the TOF flight path that start their acceleration with a correlated spatial and energy spread. Electrode geometries in the TOF tube and voltages applied to these electrodes can be varied with this technique to position the focal plane of a packet of ions of the same mass to charge value at the detector surface to achieve maximum resolution. The Wiley-McClaren focusing technique improves resolution when ions occupying a finite volume between two parallel plate electrodes are accelerated. In a uniform electric accelerating field, ions of the same m/z value located closer to the repelling electrode will begin their acceleration at a higher potential than an ion of the same m/z initiating its acceleration at a position further from the repelling electrode. The ion that starts its acceleration nearer to the repelling electrode surface at a higher potential, must travel further than the slower ion which starts its acceleration at a lower potential closer to the extraction grid or electrode. At some point in the subsequent ion flight, the faster ion will pass the slower ion of the same m/z value. By adding a second accelerating region, the location of the point where the ions having the same mass to charge value pass and hence are "focused" in a plane, can be optimized to accommodate a desired flight time and flight tube geometry. The focal point occurring in the first field free region in the TOF drift tube can be "reflected" into a second field free region using an ion mirror or reflector in the ion flight path.
Variations in ion flight time can also be caused by initial ion velocity components not correlated to the spatial spread. This non-correlated ion kinetic energy distribution can be compensated for, to some degree, by the addition of an ion reflector or mirror in the ion flight path. Ions of the same m/z value with higher kinetic energy in the TOF axial direction will penetrate deeper into the decelerating field of an ion reflector prior to being re-accelerated in the direction of the detector. The ion with higher kinetic energy experiences a longer flight path when compared to a lower energy ion of the same m/z value. Subjecting an ion to multiple accelerating and decelerating electric fields allows operation of a TOF mass analyzer with higher order focusing to improve resolution and mass accuracy measurement. Configuration and operation of an Atmospheric Pressure Ion Source Time-Of-Flight mass analyzer with higher order focusing is described by Dresch in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/021,184. Higher order focusing corrections can not entirely compensate for initial ion kinetic energy spread in the TOF axial direction that is not correlated with ion spatial spread in the initial pulsing or ion acceleration region. Also, higher order focusing can not entirely compensate for ion energy or spatial spreads which occur during ion acceleration, deceleration or field free flight due to ion fragmentation or ion collisions with neutral background molecules. A ion kinetic energy distribution not correlated to the ion spatial distribution can occur when ionization techniques such as MALDI are used. In MALDI ionization, the sample-bearing surface is located in the initial acceleration region of a Time-Of-Flight mass spectrometer. A laser pulse impinging on a sample surface, in a MALDI ion source, creates a burst of neutral molecules as well as ions in the initial accelerating region of a Time-Of-Flight mass analyzer. Ion to neutral molecule collisions can occur during ion extraction and acceleration into the TOF drift tube resulting in an ion kinetic energy spread, ion fragmentation, degradation of resolution and errors in mass to charge measurement. This problem increases if structural information via ion fragmentation is desired using MALDI Time-Of-Flight mass analysis. Higher energy laser pulses used in MALDI to increase the ion fragmentation also result in increased neutral molecule ablation from the target surface. Even in the absence of ion-neutral collisions, ions generated from the target surface have an initial velocity or kinetic energy distribution that is not well correlated to spatial distribution in the first ion acceleration region. This initial non-correlated kinetic distribution of the MALDI generated ion population can degrade resolution, and mass accuracy performance in Time-Of-Flight mass analysis.
A technique, termed delayed extraction, has been developed where the application of an electric field to accelerate ions into the TOF drift tube is delayed after the MALDI laser pulse is fired to allow time for the neutral gas to expand, increasing the mean free path prior to ion acceleration. By applying a small reverse accelerating field during the MALDI laser pulse and delaying the acceleration of ions into the Time-Of-Flight tube drift region, as described by Vestal et. al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,184, some portion of the low m/z ions can be eliminated. A portion of the low m/z ions, primarily matrix related ions, created in the MALDI process are accelerated back to the sample surface and neutralized when the reverse electric field is applied. A portion of the slower moving higher mass to charge ions do not return to the target surface as rapidly as the lower molecular weight ions when the reverse accelerating field is applied. After an appropriate delay, these higher molecular weight ions may be forward accelerated into the TOF tube drift region by switching the electric field applied between the two electrodes in the first ion acceleration region. Delayed extraction also allows many of the fast fragmentation processes to occur prior to accelerating ions into the Time-Of-Flight tube drift region, resulting in improved mass to charge resolution and mass accuracy measurements for the ions produced in fast fragmentation processes. The delayed extraction technique reduces the ion energy deficit which can occur due to ion-neutral collisions in the first accelerating region but does not entirely eliminate it, particularly with higher energy laser pulses. Also, delayed extraction is effective in improving MALDI Time-Of-Flight performance when lasers with longer pulse durations are used. However, even with delayed extraction, there is a limit to the length of delay time, the magnitude of the reverse field during the delay period, the laser power used and the duration of a laser pulse before overall sensitivity or Time-Of-Flight performance is degraded. The delayed extraction technique requires a balancing of several variables to achieve optimal performance, often with compromises to the Time-Of-Flight mass analysis performance over all or some portion of the mass to charge spectrum generated. The present invention improves the performance of MALDI Time-Of-Flight without imposing the restrictions or limitations of delayed extraction techniques and provides more uniform Time-Of-Flight mass analysis performance over a wider mass to charge range.
When ions are generated in an ion source positioned external to the Time-Of-Flight pulsing or first acceleration region, a technique termed "orthogonal" pulsing has been used to minimize effects of the kinetic energy distribution of the initial ion beam. This orthogonal pulsing technique first reported by The Bendix Corporation Research Laboratories Division, Technical Documentary Report No. ASD-TDR-62-644, Part 1, April 1964, has become a preferred technique to interface external ion sources, particularly Atmospheric Pressure Ionization Sources, with Time-Of-Flight mass analyzers. The ion beam produced from an Atmospheric Pressure Ion Source (API) or an ion source that operates in vacuum, is directed into the gap between the two parallel planar electrodes defining the first accelerating region of the TOF mass analyzer. The primary ion beam trajectory is directed to traverse the gap between the two parallel planar electrodes in the TOF first accelerating region substantially orthogonal to axis of the direction of ion acceleration into Time-Of-Flight tube. With the orthogonal pulsing technique, any kinetic energy distribution in the primary ion beam is not coupled to the ion velocity component oriented in the direction of ion acceleration into the Time-Of-Flight tube drift region. The primary ion beam kinetic energy spread oriented along the beam axis only affects the location of ion impact on the planar detector surface, not the ion arrival time at the detector surface. Apparatus and methods have been developed to improve the duty cycle TOF mass analyzers configured with linear or orthogonal pulsing geometries.
Dresch et. al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,111 describe an apparatus and method for improving the duty cycle and consequently the sensitivity of a Time-Of-Flight mass analyzer. Ions contained in a continuous ion beam delivered from an atmospheric pressure ion source into a multipole ion guide, are trapped in the multipole ion guide and selectively released from the ion guide exit into the TOF pulsing region. This apparatus and technique delivers ion packets into the pulsing or first acceleration region of a TOF mass analyzer from a continuous ion beam with higher efficiency and less ion loss than can be achieved with a continuous primary ion beam delivered directly into the TOF pulsing region. Ion trapping of a continuous ion beam in an ion guide effectively integrates ions delivered in the primary ion beam between TOF pulses. When this apparatus and technique is applied to an orthogonal pulsing TOF geometry, portions of the mass to charge range can be prevented from being accelerated into the Time-Of-Flight drift region, reducing unnecessary detector channel dead time, resulting in improved sensitivity and dynamic range. Operation with the orthogonal pulsing technique has provided significant Time-Of-Flight mass analysis performance improvements when compared with the performance using in-line ion beam pulsing techniques. Even with orthogonal pulsing, it is not always possible to achieve optimal primary ion beam characteristics in the pulsing region whereby all orthogonal velocity components are eliminated or spatially correlated. One embodiment of the invention combines orthogonal ion beam introduction into the TOF pulsing region with ion collection on a surface prior to pulsing the surface collected ion population into the TOP tube drift region. The spatial and energy compression of the ion population on the collecting surface prior to pulsing into the TOF tube drift region improves the Time-Of-Flight performance and analytical capability.
The orthogonal pulsing technique has been configured in hybrid or tandem mass spectrometers that include Time-Of-Flight mass analysis. Two or more individual mass analyzers are combined in tandem or hybrid TOF mass analyzers to achieve single or multiple mass to charge selection and fragmentation steps followed by mass analysis of the product ions. Identification and/or structural determination of compounds is enhanced by the ability to perform MS/MS or multiple MS/MS steps (MS/MS.sup.n) in a given chemical analysis. It is desirable to control the ion fragmentation process so that the required degree of fragmentation for a selected ion species can be achieved in a reproducible manner. Time-Of-flight mass analyzers have been configured with magnetic sector, quadrupole, ion trap and additional Time-Of-Flight mass analyzers to perform mass selection and fragmentation prior to a final Time-Of-Flight mass analysis step. Gas phase Collisional Induced Dissociation (CID) and Surface Induced Dissociation (SID) techniques have been used to selectively fragment gas phase ions prior to TOF mass analysis or coupled to the ion flight path in the Time-Of-Flight tube. CID ion fragmentation has been the most widely used of the two techniques. Magnetic sector mass analyzers have been configured to perform mass to charge selection with higher energy CID fragmentation of mass to charge selected ions to aid in determining the structure of compounds. Lower energy CID fragmentation achievable in quadrupoles, ion traps and Fourier Transform mass analyzers, although useful in many analytical applications, may not provide sufficient energy to effectively fragment all ions of interest. High energy CID fragmentation can yield side chain cleavage fragment ion types known as w type fragments. This type of fragmentation is less common in low energy CID processes. The additional ion fragmentation information achievable with higher energy fragmentation techniques can be useful when determining the molecular structure of a compound.
An alternative to CID ion fragramentation is the use of Surface Induced Dissociation to fragment ions of interest. The capability of the Surface Induced Dissociation ion fragmentation technique has been reported for a number of mass analysis applications. Wysocki et. al. J. Am. Soc. for Mass Spectrom, 1992, 3, 27-32 and McCormack et. al., Anal. Chem. 1993, 65, 2859-2872, have demonstrated the use of SID ion fragmentation with quadrupole mass analysis to controllably and reproducibly achieve analytically useful fragmentation information. McCormack et. al. showed that with collisional energies below 100 eV, w and d type ion fragments can be produced from some peptides. Kiloelectronvolt gas phase collisions may be required to achieve similar ion fragmentation. Higher internal energy transfer to an ion can be achieved in SD than with gas phase CID processes allowing the possibility of fragmenting large ions, even those with a large number of degrees of freedom and low numbers of charges. Also, the ion collisional energy distributions can be more tightly controlled with SID when compared with gas phase CID processes. A variety of collision surfaces have been used in SID experiments ranging from metal conductive surfaces such as copper and stainless steel to self-assembled aklyl-monolayer surfaces surfaces such as octadecanethiolate (CH3(CH2)17SAu), ferrocence terminated self assembled aklyl-monolayer surfaces and fluorinated self-assembled monolayer (F-SAM) surfaces (CF3(CF2)7(CH2)2 SAu). The self-assembled monolayer surfaces tend to reduce the charge loss to the surface during the SD process. Winger et. al. Rev. Sci. Instrum., Vol 63, No. 12, 1992 have reported SID studies using a magnetic sector-dual electric sector-quadrupole (BEEQ) hybrid instrument. They showed kinetic energy distributions of up to +/-3 eV for parent and fragment ions leaving a perdeuterated alkyl-monolayer surface after a 25 eV collision. SID collisions have been performed by impacting ions traversing a Time-OF-Flight flight tube onto surfaces positioned in the flight tube and Time-OF-Flight mass to charge analyzing the resulting ion population. Some degree of mass to charge selection prior to SID fragmentation has been achieved by timing the deflection of ions as the initial pulsed ion packet traverses the flight tube. SID surfaces have been positioned in the field free regions and at the bottom of ion reflector lens assemblies in TOF mass analyzers. The resulting TOF mass spectra of the SID fragment ions in these instruments generally have low resolution and low mass measurement accuracy due in part to the broad energy distributions of the SD fragment ions leaving the surface. A population of ions acquiring a kinetic energy spread during its flight path or during a re-acceleration step in an ion reflector degrades TOF performance. The present invention reduces the broad kinetic energy distributions of ions produced by SID fragmentation prior to conducting Time-Of-Flight mass analysis. In the present invention, one or more steps of ion mass to charge selection and CID fragmentation can be conducted prior to performing a SD fragmentation step in the TOF pulsing region.
The present invention relates to the configuration and operation of a Time-Of-Flight mass analyzer in a manner that results in improved TOF performance and range of TOF analytical capability. Ions produced from an ion source are directed to a surface located in the pulsing or first acceleration region of a Time-Of-Flight mass analyzer prior to accelerating the ions located on or near the surface into the Time-Of-Flight tube drift region. Depending on the energy at which the ions are brought to the surface and the surface composition, surface induced dissociation or ion to surface reactions may or may not occur. With low energy or soft-landing conditions, surface induced dissociation may be avoided and the surface serves to reduce the ion kinetic energy distribution and spatial spread in the TOF tube axial direction prior to accelerating the surface collected ions into the Time-Of-Flight tube drift region. The soft landing surface collection or surface "focusing" of ions improves the resolution and duty cycle in Time-Of-Flight mass analysis. Ions entering the TOF first accelerating region are directed onto a surface by applying a reverse potential between the collecting surface and the opposing electrode. Ions collected on the surface are extracted from the surface and or accelerated into the flight tube of a Time-Of-Flight mass analyzer by reversing the electric field between the ion collecting surface and the opposing or extracting electrode or grid. The surface collection and forward acceleration of ion packets can occur at repetition rates exceeding 20 kilohertz allowing TOF pulse repetition rates typically used in gas phase orthogonal pulsing TOF. A low energy laser pulse can be used to release collected ions from surfaces in the presence of an accelerating field. It is desirable to avoid damaging the surface substrate when extracting ions from the surface to reduce unwanted chemical noise in the resulting mass spectra. Frey et. al., Science, 275, 1450, 1997 and Luo et. al., Proceedings of the 45th ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, 819, 1997 have studied the modification of surface chemistries in F-SAM surfaces. The authors reported using soft-landing of ions on F-SAM surfaces, and after some delay, followed by sputtering of the surface with Xe+ while conducting mass spectrometric analysis. Surface analysis of soft-landed F-SAM surfaces was also conducted using 15-keV Ga+ ion sputtering with TOF mass analysis. Unfortunately, sputtering of ions or neutral molecules damages the surface substrate producing surface substrate related ions. The authors have reported thermally desorbing or evaporating the products of EI generated ions using temperatures ranging from 300.degree. to 400.degree. C. Thermally desorbed ions were mass to charge analyzed with a quadrupole mass spectrometer. Apparatus and methods configured according to the invention can be used achieve ion extraction from a surface after a surface collection step followed by TOF mass to charge analysis without ion sputtering. Depending on the collecting surface material configured, however, some surface damage may be sustained by the sample ions impacted the surface during a surface induced dissociation fragmentation step.
The magnitude of the reverse electrical potential applied between the surface and the extraction electrode determines the impact energy an ion will have on the surface prior to being forward accelerated into the Time-Of-Flight tube drift region. Ions can be directed to the collecting surface with a soft-landing by applying a low electrical field between the collecting surface and the counter electrode in the TOF pulsing region. Surface induced dissociation of ions can be achieved, prior to pulsing the resulting ion population into the Time-Of-Flight drift region, by increasing the reverse electric field directing the ions to the collecting surface. A variety of ion sources can be configured according to the invention with ability to conduct SID with TOF mass analysis. Ions can be produced directly in the TOF first acceleration region or produced external to the first acceleration region. A time-of-flight configured according to the invention can be selectively operated with or without surface collection, surface induced dissociation or reaction of ions with surfaces prior to Time-Of-Flight mass analysis. The invention retains the ability to conduct existing ionization and TOF analysis techniques. The added ion surface collection and SID fragmentation capability greatly expands the overall analytical range of a Time-Of-Flight mass analyzer. A Time-Of-Flight mass analyzer configured and operated according to the invention can be included in a hybrid mass analyzer enhancing MS/MS or MS/MS.sup.n operation and operated with a range of ion sources.